American Ballet Theatre Summer Dance Intensive

For the past three weeks, young dancers from around the country have been perfecting their skills and learning new techniques under the direction of top quality American Ballet Theatre artistic staff, alumni and guest teachers. The program has earned the reputation for being the most thorough and rewarding dance experience a student can have during the summer. As the dancers finish up their last week at the intensive and prepare for their final performance, I asked student Katherine Gibson and ABT instructor Samantha Shelton a few questions about their ABT Summer Intensive experience.

Gibson has been studying different forms of dance for ten years now and this is her second year at the ABT Summer Intensive.

One of her favorite things she’s done in class is partnering. The steps for White Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake were explained to the students (though it will not be performed at the final student performance), who were then given the chance to practice the routine before dancing with the music.

Gibson noted that she has learned many important things this summer at the intensive. She says that each teacher focuses on a different aspect of ballet. While some, like artistic director Alaine Haubert (pictured above), concentrate on form and technique, other teachers emphasize personality in dancing or techniques to remember complicated dance combinations, like Samantha Shelton.

A unique aspect of the DOH’s 6^th floor Chrysler Foundation "black box" theater is that it doesn’t have a mirror. Gibson said “…I realized that I dance better when I'm forced to feel where my body is positioned instead of looking in a mirror to see what I was doing wrong. This helped me improve my technique and pick up combinations quicker because I wasn't worried about looking in the mirror. It helped me focus on my own corrections.”

Gibson is very excited for the final performances on the opera house stage. Its large size gives her a different feeling from other performances at home. “I feel like I have to project my dancing to the very back of the huge house whereas other stages don't give me the same energy.”

Instructor Samantha Shelton has been on faculty for the ABT Summer Intensives for fifteen years, but has been studying dance for many more (she trained at U of M, in New York, and with the Joffrey Ballet). At the DOH, she loves the studio and space and the amazing stage that she notes as spacious and gorgeous. And her favorite part about working with the students? Their great enthusiasm.

The ABT Summer Intensive final performances will be on Friday, June 23 at 1:00 and 4:00.

Tickets are available at the door or through the box office at $15 for adults and $10 for children under 15.